You may remember the Chief Gardener from earlier posts.
The first post featured a much loved friend’s lovely husband. He had been going through a horrid time in 2021 and really needed a pick me up.
He discovered gardening!
Here is his story A powerful gardening for wellbeing story
The facts are well known that gardening can benefit the mind, body and soul and harnessing the power of gardening can improve our mental health and wellbeing.
In the next update, the Chief Gardener had become a passionate vegetable grower and a jolly happy chap as well.
He was still sowing some flowers for the pollinators and vases, but vegetables had become his new passion.
Here is the second instalment The Chief Gardener’s beautiful vegetables
Well, now the Chief Gardener has become fabulously fruity! Read on for the fruity update.
The Chief Gardener gets fruity
First up were the strawberries. Planted out in a raised bed the Chief Gardener had made. Unsurprisingly, strawberries are one of the most popular crops to grow.
Indeed, one of my first memories is picking a strawberry or twenty from the garden. How delicious they are, freshly picked and eaten straight away if not sooner!
Strawberries are easy to grow from seed as well. However, you need some patience and will not get any fruit until the second year.
If you wish to grow from seed, sow seeds in spring, cover lightly with compost and then wait. Usually, they take around a month to germinate. See what I mean about patience! Alpine varieties are the usual seeds to grow.
Once the plants are large enough to handle, transplant them gently, by the leaves, and pot into small pots. Repeat as the plants get bigger.
Clearly, this all takes time, but they will be worth it in the end!
Planting out strawberries
Onto planting out. Once your plants are a good size, plant them outside during the autumn, after acclimatising them to their new world. This means, taking them outside for the day and bringing them in for the night for a week or so. A strawberry plant shuffle!
Next, it is time to plant in prepared ground, raised beds or pots. Sometimes they are grown in hanging baskets too.
They require a chill period to initiate flowering for the next summer, which they are sure to get over the winter. I would cover with fleece if the winter is as harsh as last year though. Also, good to add a mulch to keep the soil moist and to keep your strawberries clean as they grow.
Finally, look forward to some beautiful, tasty strawberries in the summer of year two.
A quicker strawberry option
However, if you would like your strawberries sooner, you can buy strawberries as bare-rooted runners in autumn or plants now. I buy mine from Thompson and Morgan. Link below
Click here for Thompson and Morgan strawberry options
Bare root strawberry plants are dormant plants that are not planted in soil. Instead, they arrive as bare roots with rather odd looking shrivelled foliage attached.
My advice is to get them planted straight away. Plant with roots straight down into the soil or compost if you are planting in a pot. Then, make sure the leaves, or shriveled looking foliage, and the crown is slightly above soil level.
Additionally, give them a good watering after planting.
Next is the eager wait for the fruit which will hopefully be ready in about three months.
A berry harvest for the Chief Gardener
Wow, the excitement of the first berry harvest for the Chief Gardener. First came the redcurrants. Berries were picked and photos were taken. The Dahlia Queen requested photos for her fruity blog post!
Next came the blackcurrants and more photos.
Both redcurrants and blackcurrants are relatively easy to grow and need little maintenance.
Firstly, they need a sunny, sheltered spot so either plant into the ground or into large pots. Bare root plants are planted out in the autumn, and any pot grown plants can be planted at any time of the year. Although, in winter if the ground is frozen, not a great idea to plant out for you or the plants!
Secondly, keep them topped up with nutrients, such as compost or well-rotted manure.
Next up is to make sure the soil is kept moist. This is crucial when the berries are forming. Clearly, those planted in pots will need more water, so it pays to be vigilant and think of the super harvest to come when trundling around with the watering can!
Finally, harvest time for the berries. Just one or two bushes will provide pounds of juicy fruits for breakfast, smoothies, puddings, jams, jellies and sauces, so enjoy your fruity harvest.
Click here for Thompson and Morgan redcurrant options
Click here for Thompson and Morgan blackcurrant options
The Chief Gardener makes some jam
Following on from the tasty redcurrants and blackcurrants in tasty meals, it was time to think about jam.
The Chief Gardener decided that he had enough redcurrants for some jam.
First up, he picked and washed the berries and then it was a look for a recipe.
He found a recipe and quickly made his jam. Link below.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/redcurrant-jam
Next, he found that he had an absolute glut of blackberries, so plenty more pots of jam could be made. An absolute hive of activity in the kitchen!
Link below for a blackcurrant jam recipe.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/blackcurrant-jam
Later, pots outside for a photo or two for the Dahlia Queen as they were sure to make it onto a Chief Gardener blog post!
Pimms ‘o’ clock
The Chief Gardener has grown some delicious fruit.
First off, he bought some strawberry plants which he grew on in raised beds, these came to fruition and provided plenty of tasty treats. He also grew some alpine strawberry seeds for some delicious meals in the future.
Next, he planted his blackcurrants, redcurrants, blueberries, and raspberries.
To sum up, fruit was grown and nurtured, and they enjoyed many fresh, tasty and nutritious meals. Plus, some exceptionally tasty jam as well.
Naturally, the Beautiful Queen of Thyme provided the herbs for some super tasty meals and some lovely herbal teas for a well deserved break.
So, all in all, together, this lovely couple brought some tasty meals and drinks onto the table for breakfast, lunch, supper and for a super picnic in the great outdoors.
Also, plenty of jam to enjoy through the autumn and winter, so the fruit harvest continues with the delicious tastes of summer.
Additionally, they enjoyed an occasional fruity pimms as well during harvest time. A pimms that was chock full of fruit and herbs. Delicious.
Cheers lovely Chief Gardener and Beautiful Queen of Thyme!
Link here for the story of my lovely friend, the Queen of Thyme Behold The Beautiful Queen of Thyme
Growing your own fruit is a super healthy choice which also brings so many added benefits, such as regulating our blood sugar and giving us energy to live well.
Consequently, this lovely couple are having a beautiful fruity summer, packed full of delicious, healthy food.
Stay tuned for more posts. There might well be news about a new wildlife pond coming soon………..
This blog is a affiliate with Thompson and Morgan. If you click on one of these links above, and make a purchase I may receive a commission, at no additional cost to you.
To see all my updates as they happen, please enter your email address below and press the subscribe button.